powerlord

any chance of a quick paragraph numpty guide to Sirl ? I've read the tutorials, etc and am none the wiser - it seems to have been written for use by some other lifeform. stu

As a long time mac fanboi, Do remember you have crossover or the various virtualization options (vmware free now, parallels, virtual box) to run windoze stuff. So it's easy to use Windows astro software where you need to. Even on my M1 macs Im running DSS fine on crossover and parallels beta for example. Imaging wise the native mac stuff isn't great - sirl, starry sky, stellarium, nebulosity. Of course once you have your raw image you've lots of options - lightroom, photoshop etc. I prefer affinity. And it's cheap.

I'll take that please. PMed too.

Doesn't need to be pretty - just functional. With new ones being out of stock and around 60 quid, I figured someone might have one at the back of the cupboard they no longer need ? Its to fit an AZ GTI onto. stu

Pics for those who want to dance with death....

Mine is the tamron 70-300. Ef. So on the 1200d it's effectively 480. The ef-s Canon jobs were too expensive.

Sorry yes - I wasn't suggesting 50ED +FF for that reason. I was pointing out the lack of a need for an FF with a camera lens. Sony - I can't do anything with the scope - the lens is not removable. Ill see how I get on with the canon. I did try the sony vs canon @ 300mm on the moon - and the canon had pretty bad chromatic abervations vs almost none on sony. So, I imagine one positive as you say, is the optics of an ED type scope are superior for distance work like stars/DSO than a cheap kit lens.. it's a pity as you say the FF doesn't work with it and a DSLR. hmm.

I just built my own. I had a few old 6000ah 6s lipos lying around. I rigged them up in parallel in a tupperware box. giving me about 300Wh. I then used 2 LM2596 modules - one set to 12v for my az gti, one set to 8.2v for my 2 cameras. I also bought a 24v truck dual usb (2.4a each) plug. i fitted that all onto the tupperware box with an on/off switch. Basically means I can power my mount(s)*, canon 1200d, sony rx10, dew heater and have a usb spare. *can easily add another LM2596 for 6v output once i get my EQmount up and running. I realise not everyone has big lipo

Apologies if it's a newbie question..I've been doing this for 6 weeks only. So.. I have a polarie mount and an AZ GTI mount (faffing with trying EQ mode is next task), and I've been playing away focusing (sic) on M42 in various ways. I've stuck the 1200d on the back of my skymax 102 on the az gti and though its quite cropped in, I've got some ok pics. Im consious though that the f12.75 is not ideal for this sort of thing. I have shot with my Sony RX10iii at 600mm on the Polarie and got some nice shots - its F4 at 600mm, but its a real pain to focus - which is very very annoying

hmm. this is putting me off flashing the eqmod firmware tbh...is this the odd person who it fails with, or is it failing with everyone ?

hi. PMed

thanks John - I'm kinda hoping to stick a pier in the garden mount wise in the next 2-3 months. I was thinking the 400x for planets ? certainly my can't see much with 200x on my skymax 102. collimation - is this advised instead of laser then ?

Hi chaps, I think I've just got a decent deal on a setup off ebay (famous last words). Won this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Helios-telescope-/224342985796 As you'll see from my small number of posts - I'm pretty new at this. Current equipment in sig. I'm hoping it's what I think it is - basically a Sky watcher 200p eq5. aka: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-eq5.html MOUNT QUESTIONS: It also appears to have been motorized, but i think all it's coming with is what is in the pictures - i.e. motors but no wiring/controllers. It

Thanks, but I ended up doing the 3d printed route. Works a treat.

Last night. Skymax 102. Canon 1200d modified stuck on the end of it, all sitting on an AZ GTI. 40 second exposure. stack of 5 processed in affinity photo. All